Pile fabrics such as velours, velvets, and the like are generally known. Such fabrics are typically formed using a sandwich method in which two fabrics are woven or knitted in face to face relation with the pile ends interlocking. A blade is used to slit through the pile ends to produce two separate pieces of fabric such that a multiplicity of yarns project outwardly away from the base so as to define a user contact surface. A common application for pile fabrics is in the covering of seating structures and other interior components for use within transportation vehicles including automobiles, trains, aircraft and the like. Such fabric is also typically used in the manufacture of standard furniture.
As will be appreciated, in forming a pile fabric around portions of a seating structure, the fabric will be caused to bend around various sharp radius portions of the surface being covered. Such bending typically causes the pile-forming yarns to spread apart thereby exposing a portion of the underlying base fabric. That is, the bending causes a visually perceptive break in the surface coverage provided by the pile yarns. Such a break in surface coverage may be aesthetically displeasing and thus undesirable.
In some instances, in order to promote the uniformity of surface coverage around a sharp bend radius it may be possible to utilize extremely high pile density across the base fabric. However, such high pile densities may not be completely effective in the avoidance of pile separation and tend to add substantial cost and weight to the fabric.
Another potential solution is to utilize so-called (textured) pile yarns across the fabric. Such textured yarns are subjected to processes such as false twisting and the like so as to impart a textured irregular surface character along the length of the filaments within the yarns so as to bulk the filaments along their length. Thus the original substantially uniform character of the filaments within the yarns is substituted with an irregular random character. While such textured yarns may provide beneficial surface coverage characteristics, they may pose problems in fabric manufacture while also adding complexity and expense due to the texturizing processes required. In addition, use of such textured yarns may give rise to an enhanced potential for the occurrence of single end defects and nonuniformity in dyeing.